“I checked the whole cabin. No sign of a struggle. Nothing out of place except for a mess in the kitchen.”
“Scotty told you he did that,” she reminded him quickly.
“No sign of a body.” He looked directly at Scotty. “Either there never was one or it has disappeared somehow.”
Marian could tell from his tone which one of the two possibilities he believed. Remembering how terrified Scotty had been when she found him hiding, she was convinced the boy wasn’t making up the story.
“Scotty’s telling the truth,” she said firmly. “He saw something or someone. And he felt vibrations of someone walking on the wooden deck.”
“All right, we’ll go with that for the moment. I’ll take you two back to the mansion and alert our forensic crime-scene investigator to take a look. He’ll tell us in quick order if there’s any evidence in the cabin to support Scotty’s story.”
On the return trip to the mansion, Marian’s thoughts were a mixture of frustration, apprehension and impatience. As she stared at the back of Ryan’s handsome dark head, she wished she could be privy to the thoughts whirling there. Obviously, the detective had deep reservations about accepting Scotty’s story at face value.
If she hadn’t witnessed the boy’s panicked fear herself, she might have suspected he was making up the story to divert attention from himself. She could handle a boyish prank, but what frightened her was the impact all this was going to have on her summer program if his terror was real.
“Will it be possible to keep this low-key? I mean, until your investigator takes a look at the cabin and knows something for sure?” she asked when they reached the mansion.
“Let’s not cross any bridges yet. Toby Bower is one of the best and if he says we have a crime scene, it’s out of my hands.” He softened his tone. “He’ll collect as much evidence as he can and take his findings back to the crime lab. Maybe he’ll come up with something and maybe he won’t. Until we know for sure, I’d advise you and Scotty to remain mum about what is going on.”
She nodded in agreement, trying to keep the anxiety building inside from showing.
“I’m going back to the cabin now to wait for Toby.”
“And you’ll come back and tell me what he finds?” She knew her tone was more of a statement than a request, but she couldn’t help it.
His mouth curved in a slight smile. “Yes, ma’am. I certainly will.”
The way his dark blue eyes briefly locked with hers brought an unexpected warmth to her face. She quickly turned away, impatient with herself for reacting to his practiced charm. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that the good-looking detective could wind women around his little finger whenever it pleased him.
She watched him drive away and then turned to Scotty. Putting her hands on his thin shoulders, she faced him squarely. “Don’t tell anyone where we’ve been. Nobody. Understand?”
“I won’t say nothing.”
“Good.”
As they came in the front door, the children were just trooping upstairs for a rest period. After telling Scotty to go upstairs with the others, she motioned to Rob, who was monitoring the group.
“Make sure Scotty stays resting on his bunk, Rob.”
“What’s the matter?” the teacher asked, raising an inquiring eyebrow. “Where’d you find him?”
“I’ll tell you later,” she lied and turned away before he could say anything more. She certainly was going to take the detective’s advice and not share the unbelievable events of the afternoon with anyone. Just imagining what the fallout might be sent a nervous prickling up her spine.
She turned in a different direction and entered a small room next to the library that she’d chosen for her office. She groaned when she saw the telephone on her desk blinking, a stack of invoices still waiting on her desk for attention and information the Denver lawyer had requested ASAP still unanswered.
As disciplined as she usually was, she struggled to concentrate on catching up with her work. She couldn’t help wondering what was happening at the cabin. What would the forensic detective find? Her stomach tightened with apprehension. How had a wonderful career opportunity suddenly become a threatening nightmare?
Could she trust the handsome Ryan Darnell? Even though he was obviously dedicated to doing everything by the book, he’d displayed a genuine concern for handling the situation as sensitively as possible. She appreciated that he hadn’t put Scotty through an intense grilling. No doubt that would come later if the forensic investigation found anything relevant to the boy’s story.
Marian knew that she was at a disadvantage not knowing how small-town police enforcement worked. She certainly hadn’t expected to meet a well-built, nicely tanned man who looked like a handsome movie star assigned to play the part of a policeman. The way his cobalt-blue eyes could soften as he looked at her was totally unnerving. And what was worse, the gentle way he put his hands on Scotty made her own skin prickle.
She gave herself a mental shake. She was through with such foolishness. Her last romantic liaison had been several years ago and had ended with a pathetic whimper. Her total relief at being free again had been a warning that she didn’t need a man to fulfill her life. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake again no matter how many charming men like Ryan Darnell crossed her path.
RYAN WALKED TOWARD Toby’s forensic van as the investigator parked behind Ryan’s car. The small, energetic man in his forties had been in the Denver CSI office until a couple of years ago. He’d been born in New York City and had always worked out of a metropolitan coroner’s office until he spent a vacation in Rock Creek and decided to settle in the small town as its only CSI investigator. Toby kept his light brown hair cut short and always wore a gray baseball hat and overalls when on duty.
Ryan admired the man’s powers of observation, insatiable curiosity and dedication. “Thanks for coming right out, Toby.”
“What do we have?” he asked, shifting a carryall that contained all his portable forensic paraphernalia.
“Maybe we have a crime scene and maybe we don’t.”
“Sounds interesting.”
Quickly, Ryan elaborated on the information he’d given Toby earlier on the phone. “My gut feeling is the boy is telling the truth, but I need you to verify it.”
“Well, let’s have a look,” Toby responded with obvious interest as they walked down to the cabin.
Ryan stayed out of the way as Toby collected fingerprints from doorknobs, windowsills, and possible shoe prints on the deck and on the ground around the cabin.
Inside, Toby photographed the kitchen, front room, two small bedrooms and bathroom. He even took myriad photos of the wooden floors.
“Sometimes the camera picks up dust images that are not visible to the naked eye,” Toby said as he carefully put the camera back in his carryall.
Ryan nodded in agreement. When he’d taken a couple of forensic classes at the Denver
